FredQuest Genealogy

Bradfield Store

Joseph Bradfield
Historical & Pictorial Barnesville

The age or progress of a town is marked,
not so much by the number of years which have passed over its head, but
by the growth of its industries, the completeness of its equipment to
carry on with ease the daily round of necessities. A town is pronounced
“dead” or “alive” according to the moderness of its inhabitants, and the
up-to-dateness of its stores. Is it not something remarkable to be able
to claim for one firm, such a mixture of conservatism and
progressiveness as is combined in the Bradfield store? Conservatism,
because for ninety-nine years the dry goods business has been carried on
in that one spot. Progressiveness, because step by step they have kept
pace with the advance in the larger world of cities, leading the people
forward with them, until today these people demand the same service, the
same satisfaction as found in places many times the size of Barnesville.

As you know so well, James Barnes laid out
the town, then a region almost entirely in forests and reserved one
block on Chestnut Street, fronting on Main and Chestnut, for his own
family. What you may not know so well is the fact that in 1809 he
caused to be erected on Lot No. 18, i.e., at the North East corner of
what is now Main and Chestnut Street, a frame store-room and dwelling
under one roof. James Barnes himself did not live in the town, so he
gave the management of this wee beginning into the hands of William
Philpot, who lived in the dwelling and thus exercised a constant
supervision over the small store. Thus early in its history did that
far-sighted founder of this village recognize its future commercial
activity. William Philpot managed the store until 1812, when James
Barnes himself moved to the town bearing his name, and then it came more
under his personal supervision. However, the owner was a man of wide
interests; he was bent upon the business prominence of the little
village, and the little store, always profitable, was used to this end.
The entire business was carried on in trade, a cash payment being a
thing almost unknown, a silver dollar a thing of curiosity. This state
of affairs lasted well into the memory of the people now living. James
Barnes was much interested in the gathering of ginseng, and to encourage
it, built a house for clarifying this root. He sometimes shipped as
much as thirty thousand pounds a year, and gave in exchange full value
from the stock of merchandise or groceries in the store, which carried
everything from a paper of pins and a spool of the thread to a keg of
molasses, or an iron plow. The ginseng crop was gathered in the latter
part of August of first of September, and its delivery to the Barnes
house marked a gala period to the hard worked pioneer. The little
store, when the trade was finished, became a club, where “Greek met
Greek,” exchanged the gossip of months from their particular
neighborhood, bought their necessary supplies, and started home to
regale wife or daughter with the latest news, then began to anticipate
future meetings. “Hewing a home out of the wilderness” was no easy
task; the farmers joys were few, his means of communication with his
neighbor were fewer, and therefore such opportunities were more
intensely enjoyed. We can echo with others that cry, “if walls could
talk, what wonderful things they could reveal to us, what charming tales
they could tell.”

James Barnes’ zeal for the business
improvement of Barnesville, overreached itself; he was unfortunate
investments and was forced into bankruptcy. The little store, which had
grown with the town and was now a brick building of considerable size,
was put upon the market for sale, together with other property. In 1827
John Bradfield, at the age of fourteen had come from England to the
United States, with his father. He worked on the home farm three miles
north of town until 1838, when he first engaged in the raising, buying
and shipping of tobacco. For three years he carried this on, with
unvarying success, packing his tobacco in a frame house east of the
homestead. Then equipped with funds to the amount of $1700, and his
ambition stimulated by the vision of enlarged opportunities, he
conceived the idea of buying out the large firm of James Barnes & Sons,
general merchants. Thus in 1841, he entered into a contract with Mr.
Barnes by which the entire stock of the store came into his possession,
and Mr. Barnes, his family, and all his employees agreed to deal out the
amount of the purchase. The contract was in fact a due bill of large
proportions. The brick building was bough at Sheriff’s sale. Immediate
possession was given, and John Bradfield was fully launched upon that
business career, which was to carry him far, and enable him to leave his
mark upon his home town. Mr. Bradfield had a though business talent,
willing to give it an infinite amount of time upon its details. Other
men could make the store their loafing place, could gather round the
red-hot stove in winter, or the shaded steps in summer, and discuss and
settle the affairs of the nation, but John Bradfield had little time for
idling; he was ever busy, waiting on customers, buying goods, taking
account of stock, or overseeing some of the numerous details of his
business. As might be expected such attention was rewarded. His
affairs prospered. In 1843, he married Eliza Anna Shannon, daughter of
Thomas Shannon. They took up their life together in the house which was
part of the store building.

It is not given everyone to prosper all the
time, and reverses came to John Bradfield in 1846, that terrible year
when the tobacco crop was immense, but worthless, and tobacco dealers
all over the country failed by the dozens. The tobacco business of Mr.
Bradfield was closely associated with his general store and his entire
business suffered from the depression. Money was high, and creditors
pressed in all directions, when his wife undertook to ride to St.
Clairsville to obtain her Uncle Wilson Shannon’s endorsement to her
husband’s note. The house of J. Bradfield, through her fine courage,
weathered the financial store in safety, and sailed merrily on its
widening path in increasing prominence.

Through the “ups and downs” of daily life
the firm progressed, steadily increasing its trade and obtaining a
stronger and stronger hold upon the interests of the people. To keep
pace with this growth of both town and trade, in the fall of 1856, Mr.
Bradfield began an addition of twenty feet to the original brick
building, and the door which opened on Chestnut street was closed up.
The dwelling part of the building was enlarged one room, and the family
still occupied the second floor front of the store room.

About ten years later, in 1866, the old
building was again torn up to make way for new improvements; a a second
addition of another twenty feet was added, the floor was lowered to the
level of street and the front was changed, but the dwelling was left
undisturbed. During theses alterations, which were not finished until
the spring of 1867, the firm occupied the room just across Chestnut
Street, the H.T. Barnes corner. The very next year marked another
change in the history of the firm. John Bradfield took his eldest son,
Thomas Shannon, into partnership and the firm became J. Bradfield & Son,
under this double management the store prospered rapidly.

The town developed, new industries sprang
up, the population increased and prosperity grew likewise. Mr.
Bradfield decided on another change in the firm life, and in 1874, took
into partnership his third son, John William, the name of the store
becoming, J. Br4adfield & Sons. With the competent help of his two
sons, the firm kept step with the town’s development, indeed, it did
nore than this, the name “Bradfield & Sons” was always to be found at
the head of the list in all the new enterprises, and their liberal
subscription did much to aid in the growth of these industries.

During these years a gradual change in the
character of the store became manifest, the general store, which marked
the infancy of the village, was gradually disappearing, the stock of
groceries and hardware was closed out article at a time, until 1884
marked the time when the entire attention of the firm was devoted to dry
goods, carpets, clothing and such it has been from that day to this. At
the same time the character of the store was altering, a change was
taking place in the business methods; the firm began to establish their
business on more of a cash basis. They permitted a few short time
accounts and extended credit to some of their old time customers, many
of whom had been dealing with the firm for forty or fifty years.

The firm stood thus for five or six years
until 1889 brought many radical changes. Mr. Bradfield retired, selling
out his interest to his sons, Thomas S. Bradfield, and John W.
Bradfield, and the present firm of T. & J. Bradfield was established.
The business far exceeded its narrow quarters and the determination was
made to combine with the First National Bank and build upon the site of
the old house and store a building worthy of the name of Bradfield. The
idea was carried out with the result of one of the finish business
blocks to be found in a city of equal size in the state. Housing, as it
does the bank, of which John Bradfield was chief promoter, and the firm
of which he was the head for almost fifty years, the building stands a
noble monument to his public spirit, wisdom and business generosity.
During the erection of this splendid home the firm of T. & J. Bradfield
moved into the room now occupied by T.J. Graham. In 1890 they moved
back to the old site, but into splendid quarters, and have continued
there ever since. Every available foot of space, 13000 square feet,
about double the floor space of any other business house in town, and
also one of the largest in Belmont County, is used to accommodate the
large trade of this store, and everything has been done to make this
handsome building as convenient and comfortable for the trade as
possible. The building, finished from top to bottom in quarter-sawed
oak, is a delight to the artistic eye, is equipped with steam heat,
electric light, water-power elevator, cash carrier system, everything to
make the service easy and rapid.

Mr. John Bradfield died in 1893, but he
left the invaluable heritage of his business methods and foresight to
his sons, along with his name, which is indelibly associated with that
corner of Chestnut and Main Streets now occupied by the Bradfield Block.

The Bradfield firm was not only known
through their large dry goods business, but also known as the largest
buyers of leaf tobacco and wool in Eastern Ohio. The house started
buying leaf tobacco in the year 1838 and have continued to the present
times, their purchases frequently running from 600 to 1000 hogshead a
year. Four large tobacco houses were required to take care of the
tobacco purchased. The handling of this tobacco gives employment ot
from thirty to fifty people during the winter months. In the spring the
tobacco is packed in hogsheads and shipped to Eastern markets or
exported to Europe. Their wool purchases were also on the extensive
scale. For over forty years they bought a large percent of the wool in
this end of the county, buying annually 200,000 to 400,000 pounds.
Thus, dealing in these two principal commodities, brought the firm into
close personal relationship with the farmer, and while large
transactions were consummated, many strong and last friendships were
formed.

Buying largely of the produced of the
country naturally brought much trade to the store. A strong feature in
the upbuilding of the store has been the firm’s reputation for handling
reliable, honest made goods. This, coupled with the fact of always
having the most efficient corps of salespeople, has assisted very much
in the growth of their trade.

In 1900 the firm was further strengthened
by taking into it George Shannon Bradfield, the oldest son of the senior
partner, Thomas S. Bradfield.

The little village, centered so closely
around that frame store has become the flourishing, wide awake
up-to-date town, spread to all four corners of Warren Township. That
little wooded building of James Barnes, the nucleus of the growth of the
town, has grown like a mighty oak, in the prominent firm of T. & J.
Bradfield, still doing business at the old corner, and still the center
of the dry goods business for Barnesville and vicinity, leading the
people on by example to expect better and better things of local trade.

History of the Bradfield Store, Barnesville Ohio
Centennial Souvenir 1808-1908